A Blast From The Past
by FormerlyKnownAsPhoenix
Summary: Malcolm gets a blast from his past... New chapter is PG cos of mild swearing
1. Part One

A Blast From The Past  
  
Part One  
  
Captain Jonathon Archer was bored. They had come across nothing since that uninhabited planet, THREE DAYS AGO. If something didn't happen soon, he'd go insane…  
  
"Sir, I may be picking up something…"  
  
Ah. Saved.  
  
"What is it, Travis?"  
  
"Two alien ships, sir. One appears to be towing the other, but… they're dead in space, captain."  
  
Archer leaned forward. Now THIS looked interesting…  
  
"Any Biosigns?"  
  
"Twelve," answered T'pol. "One human, the rest, Elache. All on the leading ship."  
  
"Elache?" inquired Archer.  
  
"A cowardly, but nevertheless, dangerous species. They steal technology from ships and attack unprovoked. They cannot be trusted."  
  
"What about the human? Are the trying to raid his ship?"  
  
"Most likely."  
  
Archer made his decision without deliberation.  
  
"Hoshi, open a channel."  
  
"Alien vessel, I am Captain Archer, of the Starship, Enterprise. Are you in need of assistance?"  
  
An image flashed up on the screen of a young woman, with tousled red hair and sweat patches on her grey top. Her refined, and rather annoyed, English voice came back through the Commlink.  
  
"I don't have time for the pleasantries. Either get over here and help me, or be on your way."  
  
Having finished her last words, she spun round to catch one of the Elache across the face with the butt of her phase pistol.  
  
"Peaches?!?"  
  
Archer turned to stare at his Armoury Officer in surprise, but his head whipped back to the view screen when the woman answered, "Malks? Long time, no see."  
  
She paused for a moment, a slow smile beginning to form on her face. Then, a loud crash from outside her cabin reminded her of the current situation.  
  
"Malks, can you get a transporter lock over here?"  
  
"Not to put our people through, if that's what you're suggesting. Our system's malfunctioning. It's unstable."  
  
"Fine. Erm… Can you open your shuttle bay doors?"  
  
Archer cut in. "Our systems aren't THAT bad…"  
  
"Erm, Captain? It's, er, just an English turn of phrase. She just means WILL we open the doors."  
  
"What? She can't fly in with THAT trailing behind her!"  
  
The woman fixed him with an icy glare. "Just do it."  
  
The crew watched in amazement as 'Peaches' spiralled her bulky craft up towards the shuttle bay, twisting the two connected ships around each other in a way that should have resulted in both vessels crashing into the walls of the Enterprise. On the bridge, they could see the doors at the back of her cabin buckling under the strain of the rest of the Elache trying to break through. Collecting her phase pistols and yelling, "Shut the doors! Shut the doors!", she scrambled for the nearest door out of her ship.  
  
The opening mechanism had jammed.  
  
She slammed into the door with her shoulder, then kicked what remained into the shuttle bay with a booted foot. She leapt over the wreckage, rolled and landed flat on her back, pistols firing at the last five Elache.  
  
The security team headed by Malcolm arrived to see her drop her red-hot, malfunctioning phase pistol. The last remaining Elache had a phase rifle pointed at her head. Quick as lightning, she kicked it out of his hands, pulled him over her shoulder and punched him, hard. He fell to the floor, unconscious.  
  
She looked up, bleeding from a dozen places, and saw Malcolm and his security team standing in the doorway.  
  
"You took your time, didn't you," she said, mildly, and collapsed.  
  
1 END OF PART ONE  
  
What do you think folks? Its my first star trek fic, so be gentle! 


	2. Part Two

1 A Blast From The Past  
  
1.1 Part Two  
  
Words between two asterisks (*) are emphasised. The more *****, the more it is emphasised.  
  
Disclaimer: Some really rich guy owns Star Trek (currently at least), but I feel it always has been and always will be the property of that great guy; Gene Roddenberry. The only thing I own here is the pathetic excuse for a plot, 'Peaches' and the Elache. (Btw, this disclaimer also applies to Part One)  
  
  
  
Dr Phlox sighed. This new patient was excessively tiresome. He'd had to give her DOUBLE the recommended dose of sedative, just to keep her still. At this rate, her wounds would never heal…  
  
There was a thump from behind him.  
  
"Ow."  
  
He turned around. It appeared she had attempted to roll off the bed and land in a fighter's crouch. It didn't seem to have quite gone to plan.  
  
"Are we feeling better this morning, Miss Edeladry?"  
  
She looked up at him, puzzlement, annoyance and curiosity warring in her features. After a short, fierce battle, curiosity won.  
  
"How do you know my name, who the hell are you and where am I? And, technically, I'm not a 'Miss', I'm a Lady, but that's not important."  
  
"I'm Dr Phlox, the ship's physician. This is the sickbay of the Enterprise, the ship you came aboard yesterday, and Mr. Reed told me."  
  
"Then he should have told you that I prefer 'Edele'. 'Edeladry' is so stuffy. Where is Malcolm, anyway?"  
  
"Ah. I sent him to his quarters. He's been at your bedside for the past fourteen hours, and I thought he could do with a little sleep."  
  
The sickbay doors opened with a quiet hiss to admit Captain Archer and Commander Tucker.  
  
"Right on time, Captain."  
  
He turned back to his patient.  
  
"Now that you're awake, there are a few people I'd like to introduce you to…"  
  
  
  
"Eddy, wait up!"  
  
Malcolm was back on Earth. He remembered this – Edele had led him into the forest and tried to lose him because he'd put a spider down her back. But… she'd come back for him, hadn't she…?  
  
"Sorry, Malks. I can't wait for you." Her voice was fading away…  
  
"Eddy, come back! I can't hear you, you're too far away…"  
  
He looked around wildly. Something was coming for him. He heard crashes, and thought he glimpsed a bulky shape stumbling through the trees. It looked like… an Elache?  
  
Everything was silent. Too silent. He threw back his head and screamed, "Eddy!"  
  
Suddenly, an adult Edele appeared, reaching out a hand to him.  
  
"Relax," she said, as she grabbed his elbow. "I've got you."  
  
"Don't let me fall," his nine year old self whimpered.  
  
"Never happen, baby."  
  
He opened his eyes.  
  
He was in his quarters, with Edele standing over him. She gave him a dry smile that let him know his nightmare murmurings would stay just between them, as every other secret they shared had.  
  
"You know, for the head of security, your quarters really aren't very secure."  
  
He blinked at her, still adjusting to full wakefulness from the disorientation that comes after waking.  
  
"I mean, if *I* can override the doorlock, then… well, actually, not many other people could, but the principle is sound."  
  
Finally awake, he simply murmured, "Modest, aren't we?" and motioned for her to turn round while he washed and dressed.  
  
"I heard that," she complained.  
  
"You were meant to," he said, absent-mindedly, while he tried to remember where his uniform was.  
  
With cat-like morals, she waited just long enough for decency's sake, and then leant against the wall as he pulled on his uniform. As he turned round, the first words out of her mouth were, "So, who's the tasty Southern boy?"  
  
END OF PART TWO  
  
What do ya think? REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!! 


	3. Part Three

Standard Disclaimer  
  
A/N this is POST Shuttlepod One  
  
A Blast From The Past  
  
Part Three  
  
Hoshi made her way to one of the ship's exercise areas, intent on practising her aim with a phase pistol. She stopped. Could she hear fighting inside? Sparring wasn't unusual, but this sounded a bit too violent for that.  
  
Moving quickly, she opened the door and slipped through, ready to call for assistance, if needed.  
  
Malcolm and Edele were fighting. Very fast, very intense. Unsure of what to do, Hoshi listened to their voices. Through the tumult of noise, she could hear their pleasant conversation. Puzzled, but not wishing to intrude, Hoshi tiptoed away, making a mental note to find out if Malcolm treated *all* his closest friends that way…  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"What have you been doing to your ship? It's a wreck!"  
  
"Hey, he's not a wreck. He's just been through a rough time lately."  
  
"You know, traditionally, ships are a 'she'."  
  
"Who cares about tradition? Besides, that's just what *men* do. Nearly all the females I've met out here call them 'he'. It's obvious when you think about it…"  
  
"And what is that supposed to mean?" asked Malcolm, realising he might not like the answer.  
  
"Never works properly, spends more time at a Starbase than out in space, never does his best until you give him a kick…"  
  
"Ok, ok, I get the idea," Malcolm laughed. "But my point still remains… your ship's in pretty bad shape."  
  
"I haven't visited a Starbase in five months, so I haven't been able to get an engineer to do the repairs."  
  
"Must be pretty expensive…"  
  
"Not really…"  
  
"What, do these engineers do all your repair work for free?" he asked, mockingly.  
  
"Not *exactly* for *free*…"  
  
Malcolm stared at his best friend, who was squirming with embarrassment. As her cheeks burned pink, he understood her meaning, and began to blush himself.  
  
"I don't *believe* you sometimes…"  
  
"Look, Malks, can we please change the subject?"  
  
"Fine." Malcolm sighed in frustration. "Look, you're dropping your shoulder, I can see when you're going to strike…"  
  
Next second, Malcolm was flat on his back, looking up at the ceiling. Edele gave him a pointed glare.  
  
"All right, point taken…"  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Where's Edele?"  
  
Malcolm looked up from his plate of food in surprise. He hadn't realised anyone was there.  
  
"She went to take a shower," he told Trip. "She'll be back here in… Well, she *said* fifteen minutes, but that was half an hour ago."  
  
Trip hesitated, then asked, "Mind if I join you?"  
  
"Of course not. You'll have to excuse me, though, I'm ravenous."  
  
They ate in silence for about twenty seconds, until Trip could constrain himself no longer.  
  
"Malcolm, is Edele… you know… one of *those* girls?"  
  
Malcolm choked on a mouthful of food. He certainly hadn't been expecting *that*! Barely able to speak through laughing so hard, he managed to gasp out, "What?!? No! Trip, she's my best friend. That's all."  
  
"Oh. Ok."  
  
Trip began to look a lot more cheerful. Malcolm, suspicious, was about to ask why he cared so much, when Edele walked in. She looked around, spotted him and waved. When she saw who his companion was, her smile widened into a saucy grin.  
  
Quickly, she grabbed what looked like enough food for five, fully-grown, Klingon warriors and made her way over to their table.  
  
As he had expected, no sooner had she shovelled in a few bites of her food, she was already snatching the tastiest bits off his own plate.  
  
After a few minutes of battling for food, Edele and Malcolm assumed a rather more normal rate of consumption. Looking up, as if noticing him for the first time, Edele said, "Good afternoon, Commander Tucker."  
  
"Oh please, call me Trip."  
  
"Interesting nickname."  
  
"Not as interesting as yours," he countered.  
  
Edele grinned again, and Malcolm took advantage of her distraction to steal the last remaining pineapple ring off her plate.  
  
Very aware of what a pathetic conversation starter it was, Trip asked, "So, erm… what to you do? I mean, when you're not being attacked by aliens."  
  
Malcolm muttered, "She sleeps with engineers," around a mouthful of food. Edele kicked his ankle hard, and hoped Trip hadn't heard that comment.  
  
"Mostly I'm a… Well, I suppose you could call me an 'Intergalactic Courier'. I transport small, precious cargoes for high prices. Are you finished with that apple pie?"  
  
Trip handed it over. "I woulda thought it would be hard to get work, what with the competition and all."  
  
"Yes, but the competition doesn't have a three point five warp engine," she said, indistinctly.  
  
Trip gave an impressed whistle. "That musta been expensive."  
  
Edele shrugged. "I got a discount."  
  
For some reason, Malcolm found that statement immensely funny. Deciding it would be easier to just kill Malcolm now than wait until later, Edele's revenge was interrupted by Captain Archer's voice, broadcasted around the entire ship.  
  
"All senior officers report to the bridge. We have a situation."  
  
END OF PART THREE  
  
I'm not sure how many parts this is going to have. I had intended four (like on TV), but it doesn't seem to be going to plan. Oh well, I can always modify it later! Waddya think so far?  
  
Next chapter : We find out a little more about the Elache and their homeworld. 


	4. Part Four

Standard Disclaimer  
  
  
  
A Blast From The Past  
  
Part Four  
  
"I want Edele up here – now!" commanded Captain Archer.  
  
Out of breath, Edele burst onto the bridge with Trip and Malcolm on her heels.  
  
"I'm here," she gasped. "I had a feeling this had something to do with my 'friends'."  
  
She looked up at the viewscreen.  
  
"Oh, bugger."  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"That thing up there?" she pointed to the ship on the screen. "That's the closest the Elache have to a war vessel. Fully equipped with all 'their' best technology. Believe me, Captain, all that stolen equipment and machinery make them a fierce opponent."  
  
She glared at Malcolm. "Don't give me that look. Just because I never attended your precious Starfleet doesn't mean I'm completely dense."  
  
Remembering she was surrounded by Starfleet officers, she directed a comment of "No offence," to the room in general.  
  
"They're haling us, sir," informed Hoshi.  
  
Archer nodded, and the image appeared on the viewscreen. This Elache looked worse than the others unconscious in sickbay. Still green, still mouthless, but its various horns seemed longer and it was heavily armed with an impressive range of weaponry.  
  
:KIDNAPPERS! Return our people to us at once!:  
  
Archer clapped his hands to his ears, but it didn't help. That brutal voice ripped through his head, and he dropped to his knees.  
  
Edele crawled over to him, eyes streaming.  
  
"I should have warned you," she said, face screwed up in pain. "The Elache are telepathic – it's why they don't have mouths. This one is making no attempt to shield, that's why it hurts so much."  
  
Making an effort, Archer struggled to his feet. Facing the viewscreen, he shouted, defiantly. "We can't help you like this!"  
  
The Elache 'lowered' it's mind voice. It was now bearable, but only just.  
  
:Give us back our people. The Ka'ak who attacked them, also. She must be punished.:  
  
"Ka'ak?"  
  
:SILENCE!:  
  
One by one, the crew of the bridge blacked out, as the Elache reached into their minds and forcibly took all information that could be useful.  
  
They were cruelly dragged back into consciousness and given the mental version of a kick up the backside.  
  
:You have thirty of your hours to comply with our requests. If our people are not returned and the Ka'ak not turned over for execution, we remove them and destroy your ship.:  
  
The image disappeared and the ship vanished.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Captain, just let me go."  
  
"No! Do you really think I'm going to send you into certain death? I'm not about to let you die!"  
  
"And *I'm* not about to let me die, either. But if I stay here, *all* of us will die. Including me. If I go, it's only *probable* death. They don't execute *all* their prisoners."  
  
"No?"  
  
"Some are slaves."  
  
"SLAVES?!?"  
  
"Look, Captain Archer, I'm resourceful. I won't be there long."  
  
Archer raised an eyebrow, inviting her to explain further.  
  
"This isn't the first time I've been up for execution. It's… not *easy* to get out of, but it's possible. It's expensive, and you're in debt for pretty much the rest of your life, but…"  
  
"…at least you're alive to be in debt," Malcolm finished for her.  
  
Edele threw him a grateful glance, but he turned his eyes away.  
  
"Captain," he said, "I may have a compromise. I don't like it, but I think it's the best choice we have…"  
  
  
  
END OF PART FOUR  
  
Ok, ok, I know I said we'd find out about their homeworld, but I have writers block!  
  
Next Chapter :- A visit to the Elache homeworld, and Malcolm gets a little deja-vu.  
  
What are you waiting for already? REVIEW!! 


End file.
